1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to multicellular curtains and Venetian blind assemblies, and more particularly to pleat-faced multicellular curtains which have Venetian blind components assembled intercellularly therewithin.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Many curtain designs have been proposed in order to realize shade apparatus that would provide functionally suitable and aesthetic window treatments. The two predominant designs that have received a great deal of inventor attention in the past five decades are the multi-slatted Venetian blind and the more current multicellular (pleated or flat faced) curtain. In the former, there has been suggested the use of interconnected slats, vertical (as well as horizontal) slats, independently operated slats, slats motivated to acquire a zig-zag configuration, and instantly, directionally arrayed slats connected by slat ligature having different opacity. Also within this genre, slats of differing reflective character have also been suggested by the instant inventor. Proposals in the multicellular curtain have included, as previously mentioned, flat-faced obverse-reverse curtain designs as well as pleated obverse-reverse (or mixed) designs such as one flat-faced curtain panel combined with a pleated panel. Between the panels of the cellular structure, the partitions are either orthogonal (to the flat-faced panels) or oblique (to, generally, the relief or pleat-faced panels). As with the Venetian blind, the unicellular or multicellular curtain structures have also incorporated areas or portions of varying opaqueness (or opacity) or reflectivity. All of these inventions have a common view toward the production of a highly functional, yet aesthetic window covering. In some instances, they are incorporated with glazing apparatus and are thus used to promote their purely utilitarian function, that of providing light controlling barriers in order to acquire more efficient thermal insulative properties. Thus, the main inventive thrust of this invention is to provide (but not disjunctively like its predecessors) controllable light transmission through a light-diffusing curtain by means generally described as fixed and movable reflective and/or opaque panels. The instant invention utilizes pleated (i.e., multipaneled), multicellular curtains, the obverse and reverse (or front and back) panels which are vertically displaced from each other, have between them a web ligature, the individual ligaments of which (the ligature) each connect the inside pleat ridge of one curtain panel with the inside pleat ridge of the other curtain panel that is adjacent to it but displaced vertically therefrom. In cross section, such a ligature appears as a zig-zag strip that connects one interior pleat ridge with an adjacent interior pleat ridge,
thus forming in the multicellular curtain an alternating array of asymmetrically shaped, diamond-like cells. The one early disadvantage of the unicellular or multicellular curtain, relative to its suitability in meeting the instant inventor's aforementioned purposes, is that heretofore the flat-faced/pleated curtain could only effect totality (either light transmissivity through varying opacities of shade panels or non transmissivity) by raising or lowering the curtain. All the while, however, the Venetian blind, with its variable slat architecture, could be readily employed to vary the light transmissivity of a shade. It seemed reasonable that if the Venetian blind were incorporated with cellular curtains of the type herein mentioned, a highly utilitarian apparatus would result. If they were arrayed one behind the other, most of the desired characteristics sought by the instant inventor would be acquired, but at a tragic loss of space efficiency with no concomitant appreciation in the aesthetics. Some inventors did, indeed, work arduously to meld such concepts; and a discussion of their art now follows.
The 1976 patent for a SLATTED CURTAIN, issued to Ronkholz-Toelle, U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,789, discloses a curtain comprising vertical slats interconnected by transparent slats and so arranged that, when the curtain is open, each two adjacent covering (connected) slats form two sides of an H, while the transparent slat which connects them forms the crossbar of the H. This was an excellent application of the use of multiple planar slats, the array of which formed a light and thermal barrier, and which could, by varying the side slats (of the H) increase or diminish the light passing through the slat-formed curtain. Although not providing a great deal of insulative character, the Ronkholz-Toelle apparatus was quite functional and mildly aesthetically pleasing. The curtain was further foldable in that it could be gathered from a side (when hung in the vertical configuration) or drawn up from the bottom in conventional Venetian blind fashion. In 1985, Brockhaus obtained U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,828 for a WINDOW INSULATOR, a thermally efficient window shade comprising honeycomb slats (multicellular structure), pivotally and transverse hinged to a front panel, that were movable by a rear-(to the panel) mounted manifolding strap. The strap was used to raise and lower the pivotally hinged slats that were arrayed behind the flat-faced, room-facing panel. Because the array was set adjacent the window glazing, the multitude of slats stratified the air formed in the plenum between the glazing and the room-facing panel. Thus, a measure of insulative quality was achieved by the combination of the window glazing, the pseudo-glazing (front panel) and the slat array. No teaching was made by Brockhaus to sheath the slats with the panel structure and thus, he effected a Venetian blind apparatus with individual slats conterminous to the single-paneled curtain along the arrayed transverse slat edges. Again, as in Ronkholz-Toelle, an insulative thermal barrier having tasteful decor was acquired, but lacking true light control.
One of the most current, state-of-the-art entries in the multi-structure curtain assembly is provided in Anderson's 1987 patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,012, for a HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE WITH BAND JOINED FOLDED MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME. In this disclosure of a cellular structure only, Anderson teaches various construction methods for acquiring the pleated (reverse and obverse) curtain comprised of a unicellular array of hexagonally shaped tubes. Also, disclosed by Anderson is a multicellular curtain comprised of transversely concatenated, pentagonally shaped unicells. Notable in this disclosure is the resulting curtain which displays a pleated obverse and a flat-faced reverse. Later in 1987, Bytheway, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,188, taught a CABLE LADDER SYSTEM AND IMPROVED V-CLOSURE BLINDS. The use of a ladder, a cord actuating mechanism having the general shape of a ladder comprised of flexible rungs, was certainly not new in the field of Venetian blind actuation mechanisms. Nonetheless, Bytheway Jr. paired the ladder actuators on each side of his transverse slat array, and moreover, in his di-ladder paired array alternately spaced the rungs of the ladders so that when the two side rails of the pair were actuated individually and in opposite translational directions, the blind slats which were resting on the alternating individual rung pairs were rotated contrariwise. The contrarotation of adjacent slats thus effected, in the side rail translational limit, a zig-zag slat array which effected a closing of the Venetian blind giving an overall appearance to the observer of a pleated facia. After an exhaustive study of the literature and patents available, the instant inventor was able to find only this solitary Venetian Blind-pleat combination.
Final to this inspection of the prior art, and one of the most current available, is the disclosure of a VENETIAN BLIND which issued to Spangenberg as U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,586, in February 1988. Spangenberg disclosed a Venetian blind constructed and actuated so as to be suitable for mounting in the plenum that is realized between two panes of a multiply glazed window assembly. With the exception of the novel suspension and actuation means required for this unique combination of planar obverse and reverse panels, the Venetian blind apparatus is otherwise unremarkable. Clearly unsuitable for the purposes of the instant inventor is the use of a rigid, flat-faced curtain, whether spaced on either side of the Venetian blind or completely enveloping it. The flat faced glazing precludes any use of variable opaqueness (opacity) or reflectivity in the curtain and, by its rigidity clearly obviates the compressability or collapsibility inherent to either the uni/multicellular curtain or traditional Venetian blind arrays.
One final piece of prior art remains, salient in that without it the instant inventor could have not realized the useful and aesthetic embodiment of the instant invention. In a patent application, Ser. No. 287,740, filed on Dec. 22, 1988 and entitled MULTI-CELLULAR COLLAPSIBLE SHADE, Schnebly et al. disclose a multicellular shade consisting in obverse and reverse pleated curtains in which the pleat crests of the reverse were offset (vertically) one-half period from the pleat crests of the obverse and, more importantly, the internally facing pleat troughs which are in opposition, but also offset one-half period, are connected by a web ligature that forms, in cross section, a zig-zag array of ligaments. In viewing the aforementioned cross section of this multicellular shade (specifically a dual cell structure), an observer would note that, in deployment, the invention comprises a stacked array of alternating, asymmetric diamond cells of which the shallow vertices thereof form the obverse and reverse face pleats. It is this dual cell array (or any multicellular array) that is used to acquire the preferred embodiment of the instant invention.
It may now be readily surmised that the instant invention, in order for the inventor to teach the concept of a controllable light transmission technique through use of a light-diffusing shade that contains means therein comprising fixed and movable opaque/reflective panels, it would be necessary to somehow meld the two forms of window treatment (coverings) that have been heretofore discussed.